Apparatus for gradually lifting construction parts manufactured on a building yard



July 2, 1963 E. WALL! 3,095,076

APPARATUS FOR GRADUALLY LIFTING CONSTRUCTION PARTS MANUFACTURED ON ABUILDING YARD Filed Nov. 16, 1959 min.

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MFA/7'01? KIFWS 7' W414 A,

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR GRADUALLY LIFTING CON- STRUCTIONPARTS MANUFACTURED ON A BUILDING YARD Ernst Wiilli, 3 Alpenstrasse,Arbon, Switzerland Filed Nov. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 853,153 Claimspriority, application Switzerland July 3, 1959 1 Claim. (Cl. 254-89) Thepresent invention relates to an apparatus for gradually lifting parts ofa structure manufactured on a building yard, comprising for each liftingplace a stationary vertical supporting tube and a lifting tube parallelto the latter and adapted to effect limited vertical strokes. Suchapparatus mainly serves to lift ceilings of structures formed inconcrete on the building yard. In known apparatus of this type both ofthe tubes are provided with a row of openings adapted to receive bolts.When the lifting tube is lifted, for example by means of a liftingpress, the ceiling is thereby supported on a bolt of this lifting tube.After the lifting stroke a bolt must be inserted into the opening of thesupporting tube next to the ceiling on the under side thereof whereafterthe lifting press may be unloaded and the lifting tube again loweredwhereby the ceiling is supported on the bolt of the lifting tube. Uponthe lowering of the lifting tube a bolt must be inserted immediatelybeneath the ceiling into an opening of the lifting tube, whereafter afurther lifting stroke may be eifected. This repeated insertion andremoval of the bolts is cumbersome and moreover the ceiling always mustbe lifted somewhat beyond the opening in the supporting tube receivingthe bolt in order to afford for the insertion of the latter. In additionthereto there is always the danger present that the bolts fall out. Thewhole apparatus thus requires precise working and constant supervisionwhereby the workers always must work under the ceiling for inserting andchecking the bolts. 7

It is a prime object of the present invention to provide an apparatusavoiding the above drawbacks. To this end according to the presentinvention an apparatus for gradually lifting construction pantsfabricated on the building yard is characterized by the fact that thesupporting and the lifting tube each are provided with at least a row ofstationary supporting studs arranged along a generating line and equallyspaced in axial direction, said tubes projecting through correspondingopenings of a lifting plate with the lower side of which pawlsassociated to the rows of supporting studs and loaded so as to engagesaid studs are articulated in such manner that when lifting the liftingtube the lifting plate is supported by the pawl associated with thelifting tube on a supporting stud of said tube while the pawl associatedwith the supporting tube slides upwardly over the supporting studs ofthe supporting tube, and when lowering the lifting tube the pawlassociated with the supporting tube automatically bears on the nextlower stud of the supporting tube whereby the studs of the loweringlifting tube pass under the pawl associated to the latter.

As is easily understood only the lifting device engaging at the liftingtube, for example a pneumatically working lifting press, must beoperated and controlled, such control preferably being eflectedsimultaneously for all lifting points from a common control apparatusplaced outside of the plan of the construction part to be lifted. As thepawls of the lifbing plate engage and disengage automatically from thesupporting studs of the two tubes any work in the dangerous zone beneaththe construction part to be lifted is avoided.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe description now to follow, of a preferred embodiment thereof, givenby way of ex- 3,096,076, Patented July 2, 1963 ample only, and in whichreference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the lifting apparatus in two dif ferent workingpositions during the lifting of a ceiling to be built into an existingroom, and

FIGURE 2 illustrates in a perspective View and to a larger scale adetail of the apparatus in the two different working positions of FIGURE1.

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral 1 designates the floor and2 the wall-s while 3 designates the ordinary ceiling of a cellar room,into which an air raid shelter ceiling 4 .shall be mounted subsequently.This ceiling 4 is cast on a not represented intermediate floor wherebyopenings for the passage of supporting and lifting tubes 5 and 6respectively, of the lifting appparatus to be hereafter described inmore detail, are provided at the lifting points of the ceiling.Preferably there are four such lifting points prow'ded one in eachcorner of the ceiling 4. The supporting tubes 5 thereby are verticallyrigidly tensioned between the floor 1 and the ceiling 3 by means ofthreaded heads 7. Beneath the casing for the ceiling 4 pneumatically orhydraulically operated lifting presses S are arranged and connected witha common pump 16 prefenably arranged at the outside of the room anddriven by an electromotor 9. A not represented control device serves tooperate and control, respectively, this pump 10. The flange of eachlifting press 8 carries the lifting tube 6 which is shorter than thesupporting tubes 5 to such an extent that when the tubes are erected,the upper lifting tube end is spaced from the normal ceiling 3 adistance which at least equals the stroke of the lifting press 8. Thelifting tube 6 is removably mounted upon the lifting press 8. Both tubes5 and 6 of the four lifting points each comprise two diametrallyopposite rows of equally spaced supporting studs 5a and 6a respectively,extending each along a generating line. At the lower side of the ceiling4 the tubes 5 and 6 project through correspond-ing openings of a liftingplate 11, onto which is supported the concrete ceiling 4. Each liftingplate 11 has downwardly projecting flanges to which are articulatedpawls '12 formed as angle levers. Thereby one pawl 12 is associated witheach of the stud rows of the two tubes 5 and 6. Each pawl comprises anarm projecting towards the associated tube and having a nose 12a adaptedto cooperate with the studs 5a and 6a, respectively and an outwardlyprojecting arm carrying a weight 12b.

As soon as the concrete has set the ceiling 4 is supported on thelifting plates 11, of the four lifting points, whereby the plates 11 aresupported on the tubes 5 and 6 by means of the pawls 12 the noses 12a ofwhich rest on the lowermost studs 5a and 6a of the tubes 5 and 6respectively. As visible at the left in FIGURE 2 the flange of thelifting press 8 and thus the lifting tube 6 is in its lowermost endposition. During the subsequent lifting of said flange the lifting tube6 is upwardly pressed into the position shown at the right in FIGURE 2.Passing over the studs 6a and the associated p awls 12, the plates 11and thus also the ceiling 4 are raised about the stroke of the press 8.Thereby the noses 12a of the pawls 12 associated with tube 5 slide overthe next upper studs 5a of the supporting tube 5. As the upper end posi-:tion 8 of the stroke is attained, the noses 12a of the pawls 12associated with the tube 5 lie immediately above a stud 5a of this tube.As now the presses 8 are balanced, the lifting tubes 6, with thereturning flange of the presses 8, drop owing to their weight into theirstarting position,

'whereby the studs 6a of these tubes pass under the outwardly deflectednoses 12a of the associated pawls 12. The lifting plates 11 and thusalso the ceiling 4 remain in the lifted position shown at the left inFIGURE 1 as the plates 11 are supported through the pawls 12 associatedwith the tubes on the studs 5a of these tubes 5. As the lifting tubes 6attain their lower end position the ceiling 4 may be raised a new stepby again actuating the presses 8. As the ceiling 4 is lifted into itsupper end position it is secured'and' supported in appropriate manner atthe construction whereafter the tubes 5 and 6 may be unloaded andremoved. Thereby care must be taken that the tensioning heads of thesupporting tubes 5 permit shortening of the latter at least about thethickness of ceiling 4- in order that these tubes 5 may be removedthrough the opening in said ceiling as the lifting is terminated.

' The described apparatus permits easy mounting of ceilings intofinished construction, whereby after the mounting or assembling of theappauatus the only work left is the operation of the lifting presses 8.In the represented embodiment the tubes 5-, 6 are each provided with tworows of studs cooperating each with a pawl 12' of the lifting plate 11.Of course the tubes could also be provided with only one row of studs.Also the pawls could be loaded with springs instead of with weights.Further the studs could be shaped as teeth of a nack provided at thetubes instead of the cylindrical shape represented in the drawing. Alsoa control device may be provided which makes certain that all liftingpresses work absolutely synchronously in order to avoid any unequalloading of the tubes and inclination of the ceiling to be lifted. It maybe advantageous to arrange the lifting plates not as described below theceiling to be lifted, but above the latter and to secure plate andceiling together by screw bolts. In such a case the ceiling could becast without lower casing directly on the floor of the room,

whereby the lifting presses are supported on the rigid supporting tubesland are connected with the lifting plates from above over pull members;The pawls of the lifting plates preferably are arranged in a box havingan upper and a lower plate element so that the pawl boxes may be used aswell above as also runder any ceiling.

I claim: 7

In a lifting system for lifting heavy parts of construction into flushengagement with a ceiling comprising for each lifting location, alifting assembly therefor formed of a round stationary verticalsupporting tube extending and the ceiling, a round lifting tubeextending parallel to said supporting tube and having limited verticallifting strokes, a lifting device disposed beneath the lifting tube tolift same, said lifting tube being removably mounted upon said liftingdevice, said supporting and lifting tubes extending vetrically throughthe construction part, and each of said'tubes having twodiametrically-opposed rows of studs equally-spaced from one another inan axial direction,1a work supporting plate adapted to engage theunderside of the heavy construction part, said supporting'plate havingopenings therein for the assembly of said round tubes therethrough, saidsupporting plate when so 'assembled upon said round tubes beingslidablethereupon, weight loaded pawls pivotally connected to theunderside of said supporting plate and respectively engageable with therespective rows of said supporting studs, said loaded pawls being soarranged that the pawls engaging the studs of the lifting tube when thelifting tube is elevated cause the work supporting plate to be lifted,and the loaded pawls that engage the studs of the supporting tube havingslid upwardly over the studs of the supporting tube, and when loweringthe lifting tube the pawls that engage the studs of the supporting tubeautomatically bear on the next lower studs thereof and the'studs of thelifting tube pass under the pawls associated therewith, whereby theassembled parts of the lifting assembly can be readily taken down fromthe ceiling and the constructionpart that has been brought into flushengagement therewith.

References Cited-in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS842,490 Poggi Jan. 29, 1907 1,450,709 Bayles Apr. 3, 1923 2,775,869Pointer Jan. 1, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 434,448 Italy Apr. 27, 1948 761,118Great Britain Nov. 7, 1956 783,915 Great Britain Oct. 2, 1957

